'Tell No Tales'

July 31, 1987

COLUMNIST Charley Reese laughed at the hypocrisy of the congressional committees calling for ''respect for law.'' It's just as humorous to see the witnesses exercise selective memory.

It is indeed incredible, if not specious, to see John Poindexter, the former national security adviser to the president, revealed as a maven of minutiae, who recalled in articulate detail many trivial instances surrounding the secret buying, selling and diverting, yet punctuates his sworn testimony with ''I don't recall, I don't remember.''

These witnesses have had almost total recall of specific communica-

tions and conversations with the late CIA Director Bill Casey, reflec-

ting Casey's strong suggestions to ''push ahead.'' Not surprisingly, they have had no trouble whatsoever remembering the maxim, ''Dead men tell no tales.''